AccorHotels closes booking engine for independent hotels

AccorHotels is ending its online booking platform service for independent hotels in which has invested about $25.59 million because the results doesn't meet expectations.

AccorHotels is ending its online booking platform service for independent hotels after two years. The results didn’t meet expectations, and most of AccorHotels customers on its platform tended to book its own properties rather than the independents, the company said.

Two years ago, AccorHotels invited select independent hotels to display their properties on AccorHotels.com to gives its customers more hotel choices, and to provide a new distribution platform for the independents.

Independent hotels paid AccorHotels a small commission when their property was booked via AccorHotels’ channels. And in return, AccorHotels would attract additional customers for them, as well as for their own brands, too.

AccorHotels invested an estimated $25.59 million (22 million euros) in the marketplace. That was in addition to $261.96 million (225 million euros) the chain said it committed to digital investments between 2014 and 2018.

The Marketplace initiative, which enabled AccorHotels to open up its booking platform to independent hotels which were not affiliated with chain, grew out of the company’s 2015 acquisition of Fastbooking.

AccorHotels also intends to continuing growing its own portfolio of 28 brands spread out over more than 4,000 hotels globally.